The Royal Mews

What is the Royal Mews?

The Royal Mews is attached to Buckingham Palace. Very convenient for starting a royal procession with the fancy coaches and horses.

There were two horses on display. This is a Cleveland Bay. My mother and I were absurdly excited about this. We’ve never seen one. They were just a trivia question in 4-H contests to us and here was one in the flesh. They are a very rare breed and the favor of the Queen is pretty much what is keeping them from dying out.

All the fancy coaches that you see on TV and documentaries are kept here.

The Glass Coach

The Semi-State Landau

The Scottish State Coach

The Irish State Coach

The Diamond Jubilee Coach

This is the new coach. It is seriously state of the art, which you may consider weird for a carriage. It has power windows, heat, security camera in the crown, and interior lighting. It has a modern suspension. The wood includes pieces from many major British icons like Lord Nelson’s ship, Balmoral Castle, the Mayflower, etc. See the list.

There are also smaller everyday carriages like this antique child’s cart.

Carriage horses are kept here but they are moved out of the stables while the public can walk through. I’m not sure where they hide them.

Why did they need a new fancy carriage? This was the old one — The Gold State Coach.

It was built in 1762 and weighs four tons and is very difficult to maneuver. It is so bumpy to ride in that it was described by King William IV as being tossed in a rough sea. It can only be pulled at a walk — anything faster would make it go out of control. I hadn’t realized that but if you see it in documentaries of coronations they are only walking slowly down the street. It isn’t to be seen well. It is to keep from crashing.

It is in its own room at the Royal Mews. To get it out they need two days notice to take down the wall. It will only come out for coronations probably.

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What a fabulous place to visit. I’m sorry I missed it when I was in London a few years ago. I’ll have to put it on the list for next time- I know I’d love seeing all those carriages up close. Amazing that they keep one behind a wall that has to be removed- you’d think there would be an easier solution.